The task in the crypt was scheduled for the following night, but fate—or perhaps the traitor's impatience—took advantage.

Callie wasn't supposed to be in the lower gallery that afternoon. She'd been sent to the butler's office to fetch clean sheets for Darian's bedroom, a mundane errand that kept her visible, useful, and under scrutiny. But the butler was delayed, and the gallery corridor—narrow, shadowy, and lined with faded tapestries—was the quickest route back to the royal wing.

She moved